We Are What We’re Told We Are… Or Are We?

“A Tangle of Discources” by Rebecca Raby

Upon reading this I find myself torn between two places, one part of me wanting to “come out” as still being a “teenager” (as I won’t turn 20 for another few month), and owning the fact this the article and this class both discuss a “life stage” (I hate the word “stage” with a bloody passion) that I am still technically in. At the same time I feel a strong desire to distance myself from the “them” of adolescence, making “them” the “others” just like the article talks about. I see myself as being so far beyond the “searching for myself” and “in turmoil” but this just further reinforces that the articles stereotypes of adolescence are so deeply ingrained in my head. Further, I would say that I want to distance myself also because my adolescence was not a very pleasant or enjoyable experience for me, but also because so many people would like to say I am still “searching for myself” because of my sexuality (which I will take the time to remind you is not true, you can’t “change” someone’s orientation) I also could be fighting being within the categorization because I have never liked the notion of “immaturity” placed on the collective group, and I’ve always found intentional immaturity as overrated. (Though what is immaturity anyway because WE ALL RPGRESS AT DIFFERENT RATES)
I would argue that the “struggles” we take on as teenagers are really lifelong struggles, and when we “grow up” (in one sense of this series of acts that make up “growing up”) is when we realize this, stop stressing about how “little time” we have to get to where we want to be, and start enjoying life knowing we have the rest of our lives to decide “what we want to do with our lives”, “how we should look”, “who we consider friends”, “what our future will be” or “what we want out of life”.

Double standards of dependence and independence: parents and the government set rules so that teenagers are “kept safe”, meanwhile these same people and institutions would like us to be “growing up”, “making choices”, and “being independent”. The government is trying to set in motion now that all establishments that serve alcohol be closed to the under 21 population in Rhode Island. While I do not support underage drinking, and so I understand the initial reasoning, I do not agree with this policy. Being out on my own means that the government needs to trust me, and limiting my ability to pour money into the economy by not being able to take my weekly line dancing lessons or see my favorite band play at the local bar isn’t teaching me responsibility, just giving me less places to interact with those older then me. (in text as “expectations that they should be responsible and act like adults, while being regulated as if they were irresponsible. ” 439)

I think one of the main points the article is trying to get across is that we are all different people, with different backgrounds and personalities, with different tools, and different experiences, so how could you even try to think about any life stage as a collective unit because nothing is ever that clear cut. The only similarity that I see among all teenagers, as the article points out, is that we are not treated as children, but not quite as adults, we all realize this, and it makes for an uncomfortable role determination for those in the group (teens) those out of the group (both older and younger) and those removed from the group (like media and lawmakers).

The article suggests that adolescents are “othered” to make adults feel better about their own life crises. This comes in the context that the more “crazy” and “unpredictable” you call adolescents, the more “controlled” and “rational” you are simultaneously calling adults, which we all know on so many levels isn’t true.



this connects to the class topic that teenagers are not some alien life form because of the mere fact that i am one, and we all have been at one point. we know how it feels and we undertsand the stereotypes and pressures.

it also connects to media literacy becasue we could be using positive images of teenagers to highlight that teenagers can be responsible, modivated, "good", happy, adjusted, and mature poeple, contrary to popular stereotypes.